Joseph h



(No Model.)

J. H. DICKINSON.

AERIAL TRAMWAY.

No. 495,398. Patented Apr. 11, 189s.

i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH H. DIOKINSON, OF TRENTON, NEW `JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE TRENTONIRON COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

AERIAL TRAMWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters ZPatent No. 495,398, dated April11, 1893.

Application tiled August 31, 1892. Serial No. 444,632. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom itrmay concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH H. DICKINSON,

` a citizen of the United States, residing at Trenton, in the county ofMercer and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Aerial Tramways; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of my invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

My invention relates to that class of aerial .'tramways wherein atraveling carriage from Y :which is suspended the load to be transportedVvmoves upon a tram-rope; and more particu- 151 lnsed in skidding ormoving logs from point .gto point.

The object of my invention is to provide :means for materially extendingthe length larly,v to that class of such tramways as is of suchtramways, and increasing their etticiency; such means consisting ofadjustable intermediate supports for the tram-rope adapted to permit thetraveling carriage with 4its load to automatically determine the alti-`tudrot' the tram-rope, reduce all abrupt deviiect'ions therein, andreadily pass all intermediate points of support without danger of derailment.

I shall now proc-eed to describe my inventienvmore fully, havingreference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l shows ageneral View of my invention applied to an operative tramway. Fig. 2shows a side elevation of a saddle for supporting the tram-rope, andFig. 3 shows an end View of a saddle with a vertical cross-section ofthe shoe.

In the drawings A, B are the end standards or supports of the mainsystem.

C is the outer support of the auxiliary loading system.

D, D, D, D are intermediate standards of the tramway.

E, E are standards to which are connected guy-ropes or cables formaintaining the intermediate tram-rope supports in their properposit-ions.

a is the tram-rope.

b is the hauling rope.

c is the tail rope orauxiliary hauling cable.

frame connecting two flanged wheels running v upon the tram-rope a witha depending sheave, is connected with the tail rope or auxiliary haulingcable c. Near the standard A is located a steam winch or engine to whichare geared three winding drums z', j, lo, which may be operatedindependently of each other. The hauling rope t is wound upon the drumj, and passes over the sheave Zxed upon the support A, and through thesheave depending from the carriage h, and to its free end is attached apair of tongs for gripping the logs to be conveyed. The tail rope orauxiliaryhauling cable c is wound upon the drum k and passes over thesheavem on the standard A, and over the sheaves n, 0,19, and back to thecarriage h. Attached to each pair of intermediate supports D, D is acable q on ,whichV is suspended a sheave, such asm, and o for sustainingthe auxiliary hau1ingrope, and the sheave r, which sheave r is placed asnearly 'as may be in a vertical plane with the line of the tram-rope a.The cable s passes over the two sheaves lr, r swung from adjacent pairsof intermediate supports of the tram-rope, and is attached at each endto one of the saddles t, t, in which saddles the tram-rope a is laid andsecured. The cable s is arranged in two sections with rings w, fr, x, orthe like, placed at intervals upon one section, while a hooky isattached to the contiguous end of the other section thereof so as toengage with any of the said rings upon the rst section of the cable s sothat the length of the cable may be varied as occasion may requireaccording to the interval between the two pairs of adjacent tram-ropesupports D, D, D, D.

When in use my invention operates as folloo danger of derailment.

lows: The drums j, and lc are set in motion, and the carriage h is runout from the support A to a point on the line of the tramway where liethe logs which are to be transported. The tongs at the free end of thehauling cable b are then gripped upon a log near one of its ends; thedrumj is set in motion to wind the cable b, and the drum lo is set inmotion to unwind the auxiliary hauling rope c, and is controlled by abrake to keep the log in the desired position and elevation at the endof the hauling rope b. One end of the log is then raised clear from theground, and the log is dragged toward the drums. As the carriage happroaches the saddle t nearest it, the carriage and its load defiectthe tram-rope a at the point of contact with the carriage. This operatesto draw the cable s over the sheaves fr, r, and while the saddle tnearest the carriage is depressed with the portion ot' the tramropeadjacent thereto, the other saddle tconnected therewith by the cable sis raised, and with it that portion of the tram-rope (t contiguousthereto. This action of the tram-rope and saddles t, t connected by thecable s obvates all abrupt deliection in the tram-rope a at the pointofsupport which the carriage is passing, and enables the carriage topass smoothly and easily over the saddle, and onto the next section ofthe tram-rope a without As the `carriage progresses toward the windingdrums, and the point of maximum deliection in the tram-rope a, movesaway from one intermediate support toward the next,the weight of thecarriage and its load operates to vshift the cable s andthe saddles t, tso that the saddle which the carriage has passed and is leaving isgradually raised, while the saddle. which the carriage is approaching iscorrespondingly depressed. It will be readily seen that when thecarriage reaches a point upon the tram-rope midway between the twosaddles t, t, those saddles will be upon the same horizontal plane, andas the carriage proceeds farther toward the second saddle t the saddlewhich it approaches will be gradually depressed until it reachespractically the same level as that which was occupied by the firstsaddle passed at the time the carriage crossed it, While the iirstsaddle t is correspondingly elevated. The deflection in the tram-rope aat each saddle t is thus reduced to a minimum at the time the carriagepasses it. When the carriage reaches a point near the support A the -logis released from the gripping tongs at the end of` the hauling rope b,and the similar pair of gripping tongs attached to the free end of thehoisting cable e is made fast to the log; the drum 'L' is set in motionto wind the cable e, and the log is promptly hoisted and unloaded uponthe wagon, car or other vehicle intended to receive it. It will be seenthat the intermediate supports of the tram-rope a may be multiplied toany desirable extent, and the sad dles depending thereform connected inpairs by compensating cables similar to the cable s so that the range ofthe tramway may be greatly amplified.

Having thus described my invention, I make no claim to the tramway as awhole; but

l. In an aerial tramway, a tram-rope in combination with a supportingcable playing upon sheaves sustaining the same, and attached to thetram-rope at two separate points, and adapted to automatically reducethe defiection in the tram-rope at the points where it is sustained bythe supporting cable when the carriage traveling upon the tramfropepasses said points; substantially as shown and described.

2. In an aerial tramway, a tram-rope in 'combination with two saddlesattached thereto at separated points, a supporting cable playing upontwo supporting sheaves, and having each of its ends attached to one ofsaid saddles, means for supporting said sheaves, and means for retainingsaid sheaves in their proper relative positions; substantially as shownand described.

3. In an aerial'tramway, a tram-rope in combination with two saddlesattached thereto at separated points, a supporting cable playing upontwo supporting sheaves, adjustable as to its length, and having each ofits ends attached to one'of said saddles, means for supporting saidsheaves, and means for maintaining said sheaves in their proper relativepositions; substantially as shown and described.

JOSEPH H. DCKINSON. Witnesses:

Jos. L. WATSON, F. B. STEVENS, J r.

